had to invigilate an exam after work today. didn't mind it all that much cuz i get paid overtime, but i missed volleyball for the 2nd straight week, and tonight i discovered that i can be self-conscious...
got off work at 1630, exam didn't start till 1700 so i grabbed some dinner. walked across the street to kishu island (some jap restaurant) n ordered a bento box to-go w/ cali roll, tempura, chicken teriyaki, rice, salad, fruit, miso soup. there was only 1 student writing this exam so i sat her down at the far end of the boardroom table n i sat at the other end w/ my dinner and a book. the next half hour or so must've been the longest 30minutes of my life:
i snapped my chopsticks apart and hungrily began digging into my dinner at first; poured out the soya sauce, opened the miso soup, the tempura sauce...but then i noticed...it's soo quiet..
i have no problem eating like a pig at home, or in a noisy restaurant, but here was this person trying to write a final exam for an online course...and here i was shoveling food into my face across the table. not very nice. bad invigilator. what to do?
memories people making jokes about how i eat, how i love my food, images of my parents/friends scolding/laughing at me for making such loud "lip-smacking" noises when i ate flooded my head. never before when people had commented on the "noisyness" of my eating habits had i paid them any attention. but now, oh man...every crunch of salad echoed through the entire room. even the soft california roll seemed to be extra sticky, causing me to be extremely paranoid about the way i chewed n swallowed...and the tempura?? oh i didn't even wanna think about that...
so what was i to do? i put my chopsticks down n just kinda stared at the food for a bit. tried reading my book (but the food was gonna get cold!), couldn't get my mind off the food. i tried turning sideways, so that the girl wouldn't be able to face me, and tried eating w/ my back to her as much as possible. i swear, i almost burst out laughing a few times, i do that all the time...i'm sposed to be serious but something funny always seems to pop into my head and threatens to make me crack up. however awkward this experience was, it taught me a valuable lesson: it's not just what you eat, it's how you eat it.
i don't think i've ever "not enjoyed" jap food so much. i had to concentrate so hard on being as quiet as possible; dip the maki quietly, i didn't even eat the rest of the veggie tempura (but i had to eat the prawns of course), couldn't smack my lips after, or lick up the teriyaki sauce from the chicken, and man...miso soup. you can't just "drink" miso soup like you would water (quietly), you just have to slurp it. that's the way the stuff was made to be consumed! none of this sissy little pecking/lapping, gotta take a nice long "drag" of miso...followed by the licking of the lips, and a nice sigh *aah*... that's the way to eat, but tonight i couldn't do it! oh, the worst must've been when i thought about burping. i love burping out loud when i eat at home. i think it shows a sense of gratitude and satisfaction (learned that in gr. 4 somewhere), but obviously in such a sterile atmosphere i didn't want to disturb the peace. but, as always, just the mere thought of belching nearly gave me a crack-attack, and i had to turn my head to the side for like a full 30-seconds while i fought back the laughter (my face must've been contorted into some sort of sick smirk) and tried to keep the avocado n crab meat from coming up through my nose. in the end it took what seemed like forever to go through that dinner. i didn't even get to enjoy it, and i left the veggie tempura untouched. how sad. however, if there's anything positive i can take from this experience, it's that i will enjoy the next time i get to eat jap food out in a normal environment that much more....mmmmm....
Friday, July 30 2004
1538 - just got back in after going for a little break. it's been pretty quiet at the office today, so i decided to go for a walk. decided to take a stroll down to Canada Place. i was feelin tired. saw an empty bench in the sun next to the fountain so i decided to sit on it. my skin started soakin up the rays. that felt pretty good, so i decided to lie down, and next thing u know - instant beachmode! i'm shirtless, basking in the sun on this bench, fell asleep for 20min....afterwards, i wake up, button up, head back to my building, n grab a cold frap from the starbuck's on the corner before strolling back in through the revolving doors. aah...i love vancouver.
Tuesday, August 3 2004
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amazing...i wore shoes, a dress-shirt and pants to work today! security almost didn't recognize me.
Wednesday, August 4 2004
aah...back to sandals n shorts. =)